Well 2022 was the year that Covid restrictions finally eased and by August most travel restrictions has been lifted. We limped along bruised and wearied by the shock of what we had lived through. If I could choose a colour for the year it would be purple, the colour of bruising and royalty. It was a year when we celebrated in June that Queen Elizabeth was the longest ruling British monarch, but by September she had left us and we grieved our enormous loss. I would say the taste of 2022 was one of salty tears. The smell of 2022 was the smell of defeat and the feeling was one of great sorrow. Without our figure head and mother to the nation we were anchorless in a sea of uncertainty.
Personally this was a year of celebrating family mile stones with my sister's birthday hitting another decade. We had a weekend house party down in Somerset. January is a cold month but the weather was clement and we had some bracing walks along the beach and through the local farmland. Chesil beach was our final picnic spot on a sunny day. We found a dog shark on the beach. The boys made celtic prayer circles in the pebbles and the girls sat chatting and sipping bubbly as sunlight danced across the briny horizon.
February brought strong winds and storms. The old rotten apple tree in our front garden remained defiantly standing while heavier trees fell. On the village green a large tree cracked in half.
March arrived with Hawthorn blossom and the hope of Spring as the days lengthened.
April was a riot of vibrant colour as the ancient woodlands carpetted with bluebells. I invited the church crew over for Easter lunch, we toasted Jesus with Champagne, played in the woods and the walled gardens.
May Bank holiday - a daytrip to Brighton. Seagulls & icecream and an exotically beautiful new addition to our friendship group.
June was all about the Queens Jubilee celebrations. 70 years of rule, the longest reigning monarch. The Queen had tea with Paddington bear. My sister & brother in law went up to Buckingham Palace to watch the formal celebrations. I enjoyed a street party in Marlborough, a picnic in Albury and a garden party at Chilworth Manor.
July for me is the month for visits to West Wittering beach and time spent watching horses, dogs and people at Cowdray.
August my nephews came to stay. We climbed tree forts, went crabbing at Dell Quay and I introduced my nephew George to the game of Polo. Of course he loved it, the adrenaline the horses the men wandering around in white dirty jodpurs and riding boots.
September changed our nation forever as the Queen took her final breath and departed. I wish I could remember all the glorious days and the strong healthy memories, but for me I will always see her sitting defeated in Windsor Chapel at the funeral of her beloved husband - Prince Philip. She was sitting alone and wearing a covid mask. The nation that was previously known as a courageous lion was wandering in the weeds like a lost sheep.
The flowers piled up outside Buckingham Palace. We in Compton laid a huge wreath alongside the famous Compton telephone box.
Moving on personally September was also about enjoying another year of the Goodwood Revival & the Gin festival at Loseley.
October the grapes are ready to harvest at Chilworth Manor and Albury vineyard. After doing my part to bring in the grape harvest and volunteering at both vineyards, I finished the month with a long walk at the Seven Sisters National park and a picnic eaten high up on the edge of those famous white cliffs.
November there were visits to Milford hospital where my best friends mum recovered from a fall.
December family Christmas in the wonderful Farley Green with Winterfold walks. The year spluttered to an end, weary but turning the corner we limped on. As Queen Elizabeth II quoted herself
'Grief is the price we pay for love .'
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